One of conventional printing apparatuses for performing screen printing is disclosed in Patent Literature 1, for example.
According to Patent Literature 1, first, in the screen printing apparatus provided in combination with an offset printing apparatus, the rotary screen cylinder is located above an impression cylinder that holds and transports a sheet to be subjected to screen printing.
Next, the screen printing apparatus includes a rotary screen cylinder, a pair of eccentric bearings, driving means, and a controller. The rotary screen cylinder includes a cylindrical screen plate that is supported between a pair of holders with flanges interposed therebetween. The eccentric bearings support the pair of respective holders of the rotary screen cylinder such that the holders can rotate. The driving means includes a pair of motors and moves the pair of holders along a cylinder shaft direction through the pair of eccentric bearings. The controller drives and controls the driving means so that the pair of holders move close to or apart from each other along the cylinder shaft direction to support and release the screen printing plate. Moreover, the controller drives and controls the driving means so that the pair of holders synchronously move in the same direction along the cylinder shaft direction by the same amount to move the screen printing plate in the cylinder shaft direction.